Vietnam suspends international flights to the country starting April 1

Vietnamese passenger enters Noi Bai airport.

In an urgent dispatch to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and national carriers on March 31, the Ministry of Transport requested them to stop transporting international passengers to Vietnam due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, with the suspension set to come into force from 00:00 hours on April 1 until the end of April 15.

The halt to flights will not apply to cases involving the entry of people for diplomatic and official purposes, foreign guests attending important external activities, experts, business managers, highly skilled workers, and special cases that receive the consent of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, according Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan.

Earlier on the afternoon of March 29, the Ministry of Transport had sent a document to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and carriers requesting them to limit domestic flights from 00:00 hours on March 30 until the end of April 15. Domestic airlines are allowed to transport passengers with a frequency of one flight a day on certain routes, including Hanoi-HCM City-Hanoi, Hanoi-Da Nang/Phu Quoc-Hanoi; HCM City-Da Nang/Phu Quoc-HCM City.

“In special cases when there is a need to transport passengers from local airports to Hanoi and HCM City and vice versa, airlines may ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s permission in each specific case,” the ministry said.

Airlines are also asked to strictly adhere to the Ministry of Health’s regulations on the isolation of foreign flight crews and mandatory electronic health declarations by passengers before boarding, as well as other preventive measures.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a range of stringent social distancing measures, including asking people to stay at home and banning gatherings of more than two people in public.

The order will apply nationwide for 15 days, starting April 1 in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“The principle is that each family isolates itself from other families, one village from other villages, one commune from other communes, one province from other provinces," the directive said.

The Vietnamese Government has decided to suspend cross-border activities of individuals at main and secondary border gates, and trails in border areas sharing with Cambodia and Laos from April 1 as part of measures to effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19.